By: Manoah Kikekon
The controversy centers on the demand that the school should release NELFUND loan to the students who ha already paid their tuition fees for the academic session. According to affected students, the institution had withheld the funds for an extended period, only beginning to process them after the News Peddlers report on Thursday yesterday, regarding the delay.
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LASUED Students Protest Withheld NELFUND Refunds and Mandatory Photoshoot Fees
However, "rather than allowing us have access to our complete money" students report that the management has deducted ₦14,500 from the expected ₦121,500 refund, leaving many feeling shortchanged. "Meanwhile as we speak we can only see the money on our student portal we don't have access to it," A student said.
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| Deduction of #14,500 indicated on student portal |
A 400-level student from the Faculty of Social Sciences expressed frustration to reporters, stating: "The school management started making changes after the reports were released. While the money finally appeared on our portals, they deducted ₦14,500 as ‘other charges.’ Other charges for what? The school just wants to extort us, and we won’t accept that."
Another student from the Faculty of Management Sciences highlighted the financial strain the delay has caused. "The NELFUND was meant for school fees, but the money was not disbursed until after we paid the fees ourselves. Now that the money has finally been disbursed, the school has refused to give us our full refund. Today is our signing-out day, and this is pure injustice."
Some students suspect the deduction is linked to a mandatory ₦10,000 photoshoot fee that had previously been a point of contention. "I want to believe that ₦14,000 is for the photoshoot fee," said Bukola, a student. "If not, the school does not have any reason to charge us, because personally, I am not owing the school anything. We won't be silent; we know this is our money and we will collect it completely."
This development comes amid a broader national concern regarding tertiary institutions withholding student loan refunds. The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has recently issued stern warnings to institutions across the country, cautioning them against delaying refunds or imposing arbitrary fee hikes.
NELFUND’s management has reiterated that the loan scheme was designed to remove financial barriers for students, not to provide institutions with a vehicle for additional revenue through administrative deductions. While NELFUND does not currently possess the legal mandate to prosecute institutions for these practices, the agency has initiated investigations into dozens of schools accused of failing to reimburse students who paid twice.